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Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Trip Report: United Airlines, International (Caribbean - Dec 2016)

Trip Report: United Airlines, International (Caribbean)

comment below and let me know your thoughts :)

I have not flown a mainline US carrier international in over
10 years. The reason is that their
on-board products do not compare as highly as their international
competitors. For most international
carriers, personal TV screens, USB ports, free luggage, and basic meals in
economy are standard on most international flights. This has not been the case for US carriers so
I had avoided them. Recently, US
carriers had been upgrading their products so I recently decided to give United
a try on an international destination – from New Orleans to Punta Cana via
Houston. Navigating United’s website and
mobile app were very easy. I was able to
book the flights, manage the booking, select seats, pay for bags and seats, and
check-in seamlessly.

The first flight was from New Orleans to Houston. United operates many flights a day on this
route and uses a variety of aircraft – Airbus, Boeing, or Embraer. Our flight was scheduled to depart at 7:25am
and arrive into Houston at 8:46am, even though the flight time is 45
minutes. This flight was operated by a
Boeing 737-800. United does not charge
for seat allocation, so you can choose your own seat in Main Economy; United
does charge for Economy Plus seating which includes extra legroom. The layout of the 737-800 is 3-3 and usually
the seat pitch is decent, but this was an older plane so the seat pitch was
tight. The seat is basic with no USB
ports nor PTV’s. In the seat-back pocket
is the airline magazine, the safety card, and a brochure on how to access the
wifi and the free entertainment. On
planes with no PTV, United offers free, limited entertainment through the
United app; you can purchase additional options, including movies, at a
cost. Once we reached cruising altitude,
the attendants came by to offer drinks and pretzels. By the time the attendants had concluded
their drink service, it was time to collect the trash as we were descending
into Houston. It was an average flight
given the short distance.

We initially had 1-hour in Houston until our next flight
departed to Punta Cana. Unfortunately,
due to ground traffic congestion at Houston we sat in the plane for most of
that time so that by the time we landed, it was already time to board our next
flight. Luckily, our next gate was right
next door but this did mean that we had limited time to purchase any food or
beverage in Houston.

Boarding was extremely chaotic and disorganized on this
flight. When I had checked-in online, I
had selected seats for myself and my family.
When we arrive into Houston, our seats had been reassigned so I had to
go to the gate agent to get our seats back (they said it was because of an
equipment change). Because of the delay,
we were not able to board until Group 5 which is the last group. When they
started to board this group, they made everyone gate-check their carryon bag
stating there was no longer any room on board the aircraft; no-one had a choice
as the gate-check was ‘mandatory’. When
we went on board and went to our seat, there were actually plenty of empty
spaces in the overhead compartments so there was no need to gate check any
bags.

The plane that flew from Houston to Punta Cana was the exact
same plane that we just flew from New Orleans to Houston – an older Boeing
737-800. The seat pitch was really
tight, the plane looked really old, and the only difference was each seat had
PTV in them. As boarding was chaotic,
and the flight attendants just told people to ‘sit anywhere’ we departed
late. The on-board service was terrible
as the flight attendants only did the basic duties. The flight time was 4hr30 minutes and on this
flight, there was food for purchase and drinks were served twice; once at the beginning
and then once in the

middle of the flight.
Each time, only a small glass was provided (not even a can, even when
asked). The PTVs had live TV and movies available,
but this needed to be paid for at a cost of $5.99 per screen (which was
outrageous). About 1 hour prior to
landing, the flight attendant came by to distribute immigration forms, but it
took so long that by the time she finished handing out the cards it was time to
land and she said “you have to stow your tray tables; I know everyone is still
completing their forms but you can do that later”. The entire flight was poor service, poor
management, and a bad international flight on United. We finally landed in Punta Cana and we
deplaned via stairs. As soon as most of
the passengers had deplaned from the front of the plane, the rear door was
opened for passengers to deplane via the rear (again, an example of poor
management).

Given this, I was not looking forward to my return flight on
United. We were better prepared as this
time we had downloaded movies and other shows to pass around the time. Given the seat discomfort and tight pitch, and
the length of the flight, we had chosen to pay for Economy Plus seats with
extra legroom. The flight from Punta
Cana to Houston was 4hr45min and was operated by a 737-800, but this time it
was a ‘Next-Gen’ plane which meant it was newer. On the newer plane, the seat pitch and seat
comfort in Main Economy was better. Each
seat had a PTV, which needed to be paid to access, and there were no USB
ports. Service on-board was similar,
with free drinks and pretzels and buy on-board food, but the crew on this leg was
a lot friendlier and nicer. It was
definitely a better experience on the return.

We had 2 hours to transit in Houston until our next flight to
New Orleans, but most of this time was spent in clearing security at the
airport. The flight from Houston to New
Orleans was operated by an Airbus A320/321 which had a decent seat pitch and
decent seat comfort. The seat was
slimline and had not PTVs, instead the back of the seat had a pocket with the
airline magazine, sick bag, and wifi information. You could access the limited, free
entertainment through the United app.
Service on-board for the short 50-minute flight was drinks and pretzels. Overall, it was a decent short flight.

It was my first time experiencing United internationally,
and given everything I experienced I am hesitant to try them on a long-haul
flight. The lack of amenities they provide
to passengers, the difference in service depending on airplane and crew, and overall
lack of comfort does not make me want to choose United. If I compare United to their international
competitors, they provide better service, more amenities, and newer planes at the
same or reduced costs – so I do not see the incentive in flying with United.